Reebok

LSU center Shaquille O'Neal, expected to be drafted No. 1 by the Orlando Magic on June 24, Thursday signed a multiyear endorsement contract with Reebok.The contract, which according to sources is worth as much as $2.5 million per year, ended a bidding war for O'Neal by at least three leading athletic sportswear companies.Nike, Reebok and L.A. Gear sought to have O'Neal endorse their products. Reebok officials would not discuss specifics of O'Neal's contract. O'Neal reportedly had accepted a 5-year, $10 million offer from L.A. Gear.

Pan Asia Group, the Saha Group footwear manufacturer, is scaling back its shoe business to rationalise its operations and reduce production costs after losing shoe orders to Vietnam . The loss-ridden group is now working to reorganise its business and shut down half its shoe and parts factories, said Boonchai Chokwatana, the president and chief executive of Saha Pathanapibul Plc, the distributor of consumer products assigned to rescue...

So much for shareholder power.Paul Fireman, Reebok International's founder and highly paid chairman, told restive shareholders in mid-September that if they weren't happy with the way he ran the big sneaker company, ''they should sell their shares.''So guess what? They did.After making a lot of noise and writing to Reebok's board demanding that Fireman step aside as chief executive, New York money manager Glenn Greenberg of Chieftain Capital Management suddenly turned tail and dumped 4.5 million Reebok shares in recent weeks as the stock started tumbling from about $35 a share; it closed Monday down another 50 cents to $25.625 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.

NEW YORK (Reuters) — Nike Inc is accusing Reebok of trying to score an illegal Tim Tebow marketing touchdown. Nike sued its rival in U.S. District Court, saying that Reebok used the popular NFL quarterback's name and number on New York Jets iconic green T-shirts without its permission. Tebow was traded to the Jets from the Denver Broncos last week. Reebok, says Nike, is trying to capitalize on "short-lived intense consumer appetite for such products.

Once there was a shoe named King Reebok (The Pump). His wife was Queen Keds. She helped him rule over the whole village of shoes. They loved to walk through their village of shoes together. One day, however, King Reebok stepped in gum.''Who did this?'' cried the king.He pumped himself and told his wife to try to help him out. It was no use; he could not get loose.''I will run and get help!'' exclaimed his wife.Queen Keds went and got Sir Converse. He tried to get the king out, but he, too, failed.

Reebok International Ltd. said Wednesday it had settled a patent-infringement dispute with E.S. Originals Inc. concerning Reebok's patent for The Pump technology. ESO sells footwear bearing the Gitano and Voit trademarks. Reebok said ESO had admitted in a settlement agreement that The Pump patent is valid and enforceable, admitted infringement, agreed not to make or sell shoes that infringe on the patent and ''agreed to pay substantial damages to Reebok in an undisclosed amount.'' The settlement, however, allows ESO's customers to sell their remaining inventory.

Sports shoe giant Reebok International Ltd. is seeking to make India a major production base, the Economic Times newspaper reported Thursday. It quoted sources in the shoe industry as saying Reebok planned to buy between 25 million and 30 million pairs of shoes a year from India and was talking to Indian manufacturers about setting up new factories to make them. The newspaper reported that Reebok had finalized one agreement with India's Phoenix Overseas Ltd. to make 25,000 pairs a day.

WASHINGTON -- Reebok is voluntarily recalling 140,000 of its Allen Iverson toddler shoes because of a potential choking hazard, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Monday. The commission said the logo tag on the tongue of the "Iverson/Answer" shoe can be peeled off, posing a risk to young children. There have been no reports of injuries.

Reebok International Ltd. said it will begin selling its Instapump technology shoes March 1. The world's No. 2 athletic shoe company said about 30 shoes in five categories will have the Instapump technology, which was advertised during the Super Bowl on Sunday. ''We will evolve this into a significant technology,'' said Paul Fireman, chairman, president and CEO. Reebok, which began working with pump technology in 1989, said it has ''great expectations'' for the new pump, which uses a yellow, plastic activator with carbon dioxide cartridges that push air into the shoes.

Reebok International Ltd. says it wants more for its reported $4 million a year from Orlando Magic center Shaquille O'Neal.The company is pressing O'Neal to get more involved in the design of shoes and clothes sold under his label, as well as advertising in which he appears.However, O'Neal and agent Leonard Armato indicate they already are fulfilling their contract.Armato this week would not discuss the friction between the two sides or the new request.''I'm not really wanting to create a controversy,'' he said.

As promised, ESPN made its list of approved endorsement deals for employees public on its website. Of the 54 names, X game analyst and former athlete Chris Burandt led the way with 20 endorsement deals. ESPN changed its policy on employee endorsements after Erin Andrews’ controversial deal with Reebok . Erin Andrews will keep her endorsement with Reebok until Jan 1, 2012, but will have to terminate her relationship with the shoe company following that date. “We are more committed than ever to our mission of serving sports fans and we feel the steps we are taking today will help us better meet that goal,” ESPN Executive Vice President Norby Williamson said.

ESPN came under media scrutiny after one of its popular sideline reporters Erin Andrews accepted an endorsement deal with Reebok ZigTech. Erin Andrews wasn’t the first or the only ESPN talents to have a shoe endorsement, but the deal triggered executives to take another look at its endorsement policy. ESPN Executive Vice President Norby Williamson recently announced changes to the company’s policies regarding endorsements which would result in all talent losing their shoe endorsement deals.

NFL training camps and college two-a-days are going hot and heavy, with talk already of some highly anticipated showdowns in the coming season. But a couple big-time football matchups won't be on the field, but rather the court. In court, that is. A series of lawsuits could have lasting ramifications on sports as we know it, with the one closest to home possibly reaching even further. More than two dozen state media organizations, including the Sentinel, are suing for access to the NCAA's records concerning Florida State's appeal of sanctions for the cheating scandal in its athletic program.

The little red Air Jordan on Marcin Gortat's calf could have cost him a contract with Reebok -- and a whole bunch of free shoes. During the NBA Finals, Reebok executives asked Gortat to cover up the Nike-related ink so as not to promote their competitor. Gortat declined, saying the company didn't care about that tattoo when he signed the contract and didn't pay him enough to remove it. Well, Tom Shine, Reebok's senior vice president of sports and entertainment marketing, said in a statement Gortat never had a contract with the shoe company.

GAINESVILLE -- The offers floated somewhere in the six-figure range, maybe a couple hundred thousand. Setting a world junior record in the 100 meters tends to fire up the pocketbooks of sports agents. The scene began at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., where Kenneth Huffstutler said he was approached by agents representing Nike, adidas, Reebok -- all with eyes that fell in love with Jeffrey Demps and his 10.01-second time in the 100 meters. This isn't a story Demps knows firsthand.

Readers -- I love 'em. And I love 'em with a cherry on top when they do my thinking for me. In this case, reader (and Orange County teacher) Peggy Cacciabeve did my remembering when she e-mailed: "There are a lot of people in Central Florida that haven't been able to really enjoy a Summer Olympics for eight years. In 2004, Hurricane Charley hit Orlando on Aug. 13 -- the night of the Opening Ceremonies from Athens. Our area of town didn't have power for around a week, so I'm sure I missed most of it. I remember watching little bits on my cheap 6-inch battery-operated, grainy black-and-white TV that only got NBC. We were all focused on getting our lives back together, not who was getting the gold."

Controversy in Magic Land! Shaq bumps off Little Penny!Using a whimsical spin on a competitor's prime-time marketing success, Reebok has begun a national advertisement campaign featuring Shaquille O'Neal flicking Little Penny (Hardaway) off his chair.The ad made its national debut Monday night during the American Music Awards.Talking about his goals on ''Planet Reebok,'' O'Neal says, ''I've got one thing on my mind, and that's the championship. I've got 10 fingers, no rings, and I love jewelry.

The little red Air Jordan on Marcin Gortat's calf could have cost him a contract with Reebok -- and a whole bunch of free shoes. During the NBA Finals, Reebok executives asked Gortat to cover up the Nike-related ink so as not to promote their competitor. Gortat declined, saying the company didn't care about that tattoo when he signed the contract and didn't pay him enough to remove it. Well, Tom Shine, Reebok's senior vice president of sports and entertainment marketing, said in a statement Gortat never had a contract with the shoe company.

PHOENIX -- The 2007 New England Patriots arrived here Sunday to kick off their quest for a special place in history. The 1972 Miami Dolphins already are there. And here. No, not to play. Instead, Reebok brought a contingent of the '72s to town to film a commercial. Two commercials, actually. The NFL's outfitter has a contingency plan. Should the Patriots (18-0) defeat the New York Giants (13-6) Sunday night in Super Bowl XLII, look for the likes of Mercury Morris and Bob Kuechenberg and Dick Anderson on TV next week congratulating Tom Brady and his bunch for becoming just the second team in NFL history to achieve a perfect season.

VERO BEACH -- A customer looking for a size-10 pair of sneakers at the Indian River Mall ended up with much more than he expected. The unidentified man found more than $5,200 in cash inside a black Reebok shoe he was trying on Tuesday, according to an Indian River County Sheriff's Office report. The store's accounting department did not find money missing from its safe. Employees think the shoes had been purchased and returned, The Stuart News reported. The money has been turned over to authorities.